The nation's longest winning streak came to an end Saturday night when Matt Hawkins missed a 44-yard field goal with just eight seconds remaining, leaving No. 3 Auburn in a 23-23 tie with Georgia.
The Tigers (9-0-1, 6-0-1 Southeastern Conference) squandered a chance to put the Bulldogs (5-4-1, 3-4-1) away in the second half, then came to regret it when Eric Zeier threw two touchdown passes to overcome a 14-point deficit and snap Auburn's 20-game winning streak.On a day when three of the nation's other top six teams survived close calls, Auburn couldn't. In the process, the Tigers, barred from postseason play by NCAA probation, fell from the national championship race.
No. 1 Nebraska 28, Iowa St. 12
Nebraska (11-0, 6-0 Big Eight) used fourth-quarter touchdowns by Damon Benning and Lawrence Phillips to nail down a 28-12 victory over Iowa State (0-9-1, 0-5-1) and a trip to the Orange Bowl.
No. 2 Penn St. 35, Illinois 31
Penn State (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten) spotted Illinois three first-quarter touchdowns and still recovered for a 35-31 victory that clinched the Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl trip.
Penn State was in major trouble, surrendering 21 early points to Illinois and still trailing 31-21 in the fourth quarter. But the Nittany Lions staged their biggest recovery since Joe Paterno became coach in 1966 to preserve their shot at the national championship.
No. 4 Florida 48, S. Carolina 17
At Gainesville, Fla., Danny Wuerffel threw for 357 yards and four TDs as Florida clinched its third straight trip to the Southeastern Conference championship game.
No. 5 Miami 17, Pittsburgh 12
At Miami, the Hurricanes (8-1, 5-0 Big East), who were favored by 33 points, overcame four turnovers in the rain and escaped with a narrow victory over Pitt (2-8, 1-5).
No. 6 Alabama 29
No. 20 Mississippi St. 25
At Starkville, Miss., Jay Barker threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns and Dennis Riddle scored on a 1-yard run with 51 seconds left as Alabama clinched its third straight SEC Western Division title. Alabama (10-0, 7-0 SEC) trailed 25-15 with 7:57 left, but then scored two touchdowns to beat the Bulldogs (7-3, 4-3) for the 14th straight time.
No. 7 Colorado 51, Kansas 26
At Lawrence, Kan., Rashaan Salaam broke three school records as Colorado (9-1, 5-1 Big Eight) pounded Kansas (5-5, 2-4). Salaam rushed for 232 yards and three TDs, setting season records for rushing (1,796 yards) and touchdowns and breaking retired Supreme Court Justice Byron White's 57-year-old mark for most points in a season (122 in 1937). Salaam's three TDs gave him 132 points.
No. 8 Florida State 23
Notre Dame 16
At Orlando, Fla., Rock Preston ran for 165 yards and Warrick Dunn for 163 as Florida State (8-1) came from behind to win. Dunn scored the winning TD on a 5-yard run with 2:53 to play. The loss was the third in four games for Notre Dame (5-4), which is one win short of the six required for a bowl invitation. Notre Dame's last two games are against Air Force and Southern Cal.
No. 9 Texas A&M 26, Louisville 10
At Louisville, Ky., Corey Pullig threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Chris Sanders and Leeland McElroy ran 8 yards for a score as the Aggies (9-0-1) held off Louisville (5-5), which had only 231 yards of offense and 14 first downs.
No. 11 Kansas St. 21, Missouri 18
At Columbia, Mo., Chad May threw two TD passes and Kansas State stopped Missouri on a fourth-and-goal from the 3 with 39 seconds to go. May has eight TD passes in the last three games for Kansas State (7-2, 4-2 Big Eight). Brock Olivo scored both touchdowns for Missouri (3-7, 2-4).
No. 17 USC 45, No. 13 Arizona 28
At Los Angeles, Rob Johnson threw for 390 yards and three TDs and ran for another score and Southern Cal's defense came up with two big goal-line stands. The Trojans (7-2, 6-1 Pac-10) stayed in the Rose Bowl race and almost certainly knocked Arizona (7-3, 5-2) out of it.
No. 25 Boston College 31
No. 14 Syracuse 0
At Boston, Mark Hartsell threw three TD passes and Boston College (6-2-1, 3-1-1 Big East) ran its unbeaten streak to seven games. The Eagles had six sacks as Syracuse (6-3, 4-2) went through its second straight game without a touchdown.
No. 15 Oregon 55, Stanford 21
At Stanford, Calif., Danny O'Neil threw a school-record six TD passes, three to Cristin McLemore, as Oregon closed in on its first Rose Bowl berth in 37 years. The Ducks (8-3, 6-1 Pac-10) and Southern Cal are tied for the conference lead, but Oregon holds the tiebreaker edge.
No. 16 Virginia Tech 41, Rutgers 34
At Blacksburg, Va., Maurice DeShazo threw two TD passes and Dwayne Thomas rushed for 172 yards for Tech (8-2, 5-2 Big East), which led 41-13 in the fourth quarter before Rutgers (5-4-1, 2-2-1) rallied behind quarterback Ray Lucas, who passed for a career-high 374 yards and four TDs.
N. Carolina St. 24, No. 18 Duke 23
At Raleigh, N.C., North Carolina State (7-2, 5-1 ACC) rallied in the second half on a pair of touchdown passes by Terry Harvey to dump Duke (8-2, 5-2), which took advantage of turnovers by Harvey to build a 20-7 halftime lead.
No. 19 Michigan 38, Minnesota 22
At Ann Arbor, Mich., Todd Collins passed for a school-record 352 yards and two TDs as Michigan (6-3, 4-2 Big Ten) overcame a terrible first half to beat Minnesota (3-6, 1-5) for the eighth straight year.
No. 21 Virginia 46, Maryland 21
At Charlottesville, Va., linebacker James Farrior intercepted a pass by Maryland quarterback Scott Milanovich and then blocked one of his punts as Virginia (7-2, 5-2 Atlantic Conference) beat Maryland (4-6, 2-5).
No. 22 Washington 31
California 19
At Seattle, Reggie Reser ran back an interception 79 yards and Lamar Lyons returned a fumble 38 yards for first-quarter touchdowns as Washington (7-3, 4-3 Pac-10) handed the Bears (3-7, 2-5) their fifth straight loss.
Oregon St. 21
No. 24 Washington St. 3
At Corvallis, Ore., J.J. Young rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown and Oregon State's defense smothered Washington State in the second half.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Heisman watch
Napoleon Kaufman, RB, Washington: Rushed 6 times for 11 yards before injuring a toe in the first half; did not play after halftime.
Steve McNair, QB, Alcorn State: Rushed 18 times for 110 yards, completed 36 of 49 passes for 476 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs in win over Troy State.
Rashaan Salaam, RB, Colorado: Rushed 30 times for 232 yards, 3 TDs in win over Kansas.
Tyrone Wheatley, RB, Michigan: Rushed 21 times for 90 yards, 1 TD in win over Michigan. Also caught 1 TD pass.
Ki-Jana Carter, RB, Penn State: Rushed 22 times for 110 yards, 1 TD in win over Illinois.
Kerry Collins, QB, Penn State: Completed 24 of 38 passes for 300 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT in win over Illinois.